Introduction
Diseases hinder and adversely impact the body’s average ability to function. However, due to man’s societies, this effect is not just medical but also political and socioeconomic. The coronavirus disease recently transpired globally and spread into a pandemic through person-to-person contact. The disease’s mortality and morbidity rates and the disruption it caused to the world’s political systems by proving their ineffectiveness make it an ideal candidate for analysis. Whereas the COVID-19 pandemic medically challenged global health systems, the disease primarily affected countries socioeconomically and politically by crippling nations’ working forces and preventing effective leadership.
History of the Disease Process
The Coronavirus disease, abbreviated COVID-19, is the most recent pandemic to affect the world, evidenced by the fact that it is still rampant in several countries. It is highly contagious, and its discovery is traceable to Wuhan, China, in 2019 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2022a). COVID-19 is a respiratory condition caused by the SARS Cov-2 virus. It is deduced from the word corona, meaning crown, due to an appearance attributed to spike proteins (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2022b). This shape allows it to quickly attach to human cells, cause infection and encourage replication to ensure its spread. Scientists note mutations in the disease based on changes in the spike shape of the virus through genomic surveillance. Indeed, the World Health Organization declared a pandemic in March 2020 after marked infection rates occurred worldwide (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2022b). Even though the health crisis the disease caused reduced in 2022, the pandemic is still rampant and continues to claim lives.
Current Treatment
Current treatment regarding COVID-19 centers on antiviral therapies and monoclonal antibodies. The Centre for Disease Control (CDC) recommends oral antiviral pills for mild to moderate cases, such as Lagevrio and Paxlovid (2022b). These pills prevent the virus from multiplying in the body and boost the immunity system. Alternatively, monoclonal antibodies address more severe symptoms, stop the virus from entering human cells, and further limit its amount in the body. Doctors recommend commencing immediate treatment if a patient indicates the first indicative symptoms of an infection. The step prevents hospitalization and must be conducted in conjunction with a diagnosis from a certified healthcare provider. Older adults above 85 succumb more quickly to the disease, and it is primarily prevalent in racially non-Hispanic males (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2022b). To accommodate the diverse target group, healthcare providers utilize in and out-patient hospital settings and delivering home care to reduce the spread of contagion. However, the CDC recommends vaccination and prevention as the most practical tools to prevent infection and mitigate a pandemic disaster.
Socioeconomic Impact of the Disease
The COVID-19 disease is indiscriminate, and its effect has been global. The CDC (2022b) attributed 460,000 deaths in America to the virus in the first quarter of 2021, a substantial increase compared to 2020. A hospitalized patient is expected to pay approximately $30,000 in America to get treatment, and roughly 15% of infected people are hospitalized (O’Brien, 2020). These statistics dictate how states create public health policies and plan to deal with insured and non-insured citizens responsibly.
A global recession is one of the primary effects of the COVID-19 disease. The International Monetary Fund noted a 3.5% global economic contraction and negative economic growth in 2020 due to the pandemic (Yeyati & Filippini, 2022). Compromised workforces produced fewer finished goods and products, and resultingly, the gross domestic product of most nations plunged. Moreover, re-directing funds to treatment initiatives to target the pandemic hurt profitable industries, such as agriculture and petroleum, in third-world countries. The pandemic crippled most nations and left them without a fiscal alternative or the labor market structure to ensure continued success or stability.
Furthermore, the pandemic adversely impacted the education system. Globally, children from preschool to tertiary institutions were affected by limited or full closure to minimize the spread of the virus (Nicola et al., 2020). Some policies created to address the pandemic lasted more than six months, vitally disrupting education processes and rising childcare costs. American schools that implemented partial closure couldn’t provide meals, and the resultant economic impact caused a rise in dropouts (Nicola et al., 2020). After the pandemic, some families could not resend their children to school due to financial constraints.
Political Impact of the Disease
Several of the disease’s implications are political after the virus caused a shock to the world’s geopolitical systems. Infection and mortality rates changed the manner and speed people want their needs to be represented. Due to the reduction in the world’s labor force, there is an ongoing power struggle between key players between, America and China, vying for geopolitical strength. The pandemic has reshaped alliances and vitally left an opportunity for China to gain an advantage as an economic superpower. Moreover, legislation and ruling have suffered slight changes as global powers scrambled to maintain a supply of masks and vaccines. In America, the government prevented the 3M company from distributing masks internationally to keep the supplies domestic and benefit the local citizenry. These changes in political ruling have continued post-COVID and show no indication of being abolished.
The pandemic also caused a form of unity that encouraged the quick and efficient distribution of the virus. Bonotti and Zech (2021) refer to this mindset as vaccine nationalism and further define it by the race nations engaged in to ensure mass production and distribution. Furthermore, the pandemic deepened the political divide between India and Pakistan by inflaming the contested stance over Kashmir. Both nations used the disease to showcase inadequacies in each other’s political systems while fighting the virus. Despite the scope of the disease’s threat, supplies and efforts are diverted to resolving pre-existing conflicts rather than reinforcing public health systems in favor of local communities. Lastly, COVID-19 has increased dependence on supranational structures like the European Union and the International Monetary Fund (Bonotti & Zech, 2021). Several countries’ economies were adversely impacted, necessitating help from these structures and enhancing global unity and harmony.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant political and economic impact on the world. The respiratory disease disrupted how children learn, compromising the ability of families and nations to achieve financial independence. The disease has deepened regional conflicts between India and Pakistan and increased the dependence on supranational structures such as the United Nations and the International Monetary Fund. However, the various legal and social infrastructures created for the quick production and distribution of the vaccine show man’s resilience. Cooperation and global cohesion are crucial aspects of dealing with a worldwide pandemic.
References
Bonotti, M., & Zech, S. T. (2021). The human, economic, social, and political costs of covid-19. In Recovering Civility during COVID-19 (pp. 1–36).
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2022a).Covid-19 treatments and medications. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC. (2022b).Weekly report. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Nicola, M., Alsafi, Z., Sohrabi, C., Kerwan, A., Al-Jabir, A., Iosifidis, C., Agha, M., & Agha, R. (2020). The socioeconomic implications of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19): A Review.International Journal of Surgery, 8(4), 185–193.
O’Brien, S. (2020).Here’s what you need to know when it comes to paying for coronavirus treatment. CNBC.
Yeyati E. L., & Filippini, F. (2022). Social and economic impact of covid-19. Brookings.